Sword/Shield Roaming RNG

This guide explains how to RNG abuse Pokémon from Roaming encounters (Galarian Articuno, Zapdos & Moltres). It covers the entire process, from choosing a location to obtaining the desired Pokémon.

Each bird spawns in one of the Wild Area, Articuno can be found in Crown Tundra, Zapdos can be found in base Wild Area, and Moltres can be found in the Isle of Armor, you must complete the Crown Tundra main quest to spawn these encounters in the overworld.

From here it is assumed that you have read the initial page of this guide and have a general idea of how to use SWSH OWRNG Generator GUI.

Picked the wrong type of encounter? Click here to go back!
Getting Started:
  1. Open SWSH_OWRNG_Generator_GUI, then click on the Encounter Lookup button at the top of the window to open the Encounter Lookup tab.

  2. Type the species name into the empty search field to bring up a list of encounters for that specific Pokémon. Select a row that appeals to you by left clicking it.

  3. Confirm that the filters have been set properly inside the Main Window, encounter filters can be found on the left-hand side.

  4. Set your search filters inside the middle portion of the Main Window. You can filter for specific Marks, IVs, Nature, etc.

  5. Fly to the correct location in game and save, then click the Connect button inside the main window, once connected you can begin searching for target frames.
Avoid rain or thunderstorm when picking an encounter where possible, rain causes advancements to occur at an extreme rate, making it difficult to hit target frames.

Figure 1 - Tool setup



Using Zapdos-Galar as the example:

The Encounter Lookup specifies the base Wild Area in any weather for this encounter. Clicking the row of the table automatically fills in all of the relevant encounter information on the left-hand side of the main window.

The search filters, in the middle of the main window, were manually configured to search for any Zapdos-Galar with any mark and 5 significant IVs, you can be more specific with the filters if you wish. Do note that these encounters cannot be shiny.

The Process

The end goal is to fly into the area that contains our chosen bird at the perfect time, to spawn it on the calculated target frame provided by the generator search results. Once a roaming bird spawns in the overworld, its stats and details are fixed until you reload the area.

Ensure your encounter and search filters are properly configured before continuing (see Figure 1). The advancement methods used to achieve the result are listed in the table found on the main page.

Figure 2 - Game setup



Figure 3 - Recommended Fly Points



Game Setup:

These three fly points are suggested as they're close to the spawn point of each of the birds, meaning we can encounter them more quickly. This is helpful as it may take several attempts to spawn the bird on the correct frame.

Unlock the above fly points, and have your party Pokemon ready for battle, you can use a Pokemon with the ability Syncronize in the first slot of your party to determine the nature of the encountered bird.

Once you have the fly points unlocked, fly to the area that contains your chosen bird then save the game.


Figure 4 - Target found!



After searching a desired result, we've found a Rare Marked Zapdos-Galar in a cluster on advances 580-583. Target frames often appear in clusters, which are multiple frames in a row yield the same result. A larger cluster increases your chances of hitting the target frame.

Undesirable result?
  1. Disconnect from the program, and restart the game to refresh the seed.
  2. Enter the overworld, pause the game, then reconnect to the program.
  3. Search for a new target frame, repeat this process until a desirable result shows in the generator search results.

Advancing Towards the Target!

First, you will need to calculate the rough delay for the encounter. Doing this step will provide the best possible chances of hitting your target frame. Delay is the difference in advancements between spawning the Pokémon in the overworld and the actual frame the Pokémon was generated on.

Delay Calculation
Delay Calculation
  1. Pause the game, then disconnect and reconnect to the main window. The number inside the Curr. Adv. field should now be 0.

  2. Open the map from the pause menu, then fly into the recommended area of your desired bird (e.g Dojo for Moltres).

  3. Chase down the bird and initiate the encounter, the press the Read Encounter button to see the details of the Pokémon you are in battle with.

  4. Search with no filters to find the frame you actually hit. This should be relatively close to the frame the Pokémon was spawned on.

  5. Subtract the frame the Pokémon was spawned on from the frame you actually hit, this will be your rough delay for this encounter.
Recommended starting delays:
  • Articuno - 130-140
  • Zapdos - 20-30
  • Moltres - 60-80

Note - The recommended delays assume that you only have one Pokémon in your team/party, adding extra Pokémon causes more variabilities, which influences the delay range.

Example: If we flew into the area on frame 100, but the Pokémon we are in battle with was generated on frame 150, the calculated delay is 50.

Take note of the calculated delay, you will need this information in order to reach the correct target frame later. Do not change position after calculating the delay, as this is subject to change depending on positioning.

Hitting Your Target Frame:
Step-by-step tutorial:
  • Advance towards your target frame using any method listed in the table on the main page (consider date-skipping for long distance-advancements).

  • Fly to the recommended fly point of your chosen bird (see Figure 3) when you are a few hundred frames away from the target.

  • Open the map, take note of the amount of advancements that occur from doing so, repeat this a few times to get an average number from the results.

  • Pause the game, then disconnect and reconnect to the Main Window, and press the search button again to set a new target frame.

  • Advance to your target frame using animations, factor in the delay (calculated earlier), and the amount of frames that occur from opening the map.

Example - If 2 advancements occur from opening the map, and we calculated an average delay of 30 for our chosen bird, we will aim to open the map 32 frames before the frame displayed in the generator search results.
  • Open the map on the calculated target frame after taking into account both, map advancements and delay, then fly to the recommended fly point of your chosen bird.

  • e.g 580 (target) - 2 (map advancements) - 30 (delay) = 548 (frame to fly into location)

  • Chase down your bird and initiate the encounter, check you hit the correct target frame using the Read Encounter button on the GUI. If the result is not what you expected, find the bird you hit and adjust accordingly.

Do note that it may take a few attempts to hit your target frame, this is due to a variable delay. If you have found a delay that is consistent for you, stick with it until you eventually reach your goal.

By using animations and the Curr. Adv. field of the generator to keep track of inputs, we were able to hit out target frame!

Figure 5/6/7 - Result Found!







The Zapdos matches what is expected by the tool, mission accomplished!